Jim Murnak, president of FIST holsters, has asked me to test one of his holsters for him. He asked only for my honest opinion, and you Firing Line guys are scooping him!

The holster is a #12 (his basic strong side hip pancake model), with the optional body protector tab. Normal cost is $49.95, plus $8 for the body protector tab, plus $7.25 shipping for the holster and a belt I purchased to go with it - see the Belts thread for info on it. It's for my new USP40 full size.

My first impression is that its a very high quality item. Beautifully finished and hand boned, and snug. I'm going to have to play with it a lot to get it to loosen up a bit. I turned it upside down (over the bed) and shook as hard as I could and couldn't get the gun to come out. It's even snugger (is that a word?) when on my hip.

I'm tall, broad shouldered, narrow in the hips, and thin, so a jacket hangs off me like a curtain, making concealment easy. That said, my big, bad, USP full size disappears under a sport coat in this holster. It's held nice and snug against my body, moderately high ride, with muzzle-rear rake (FBI tilt), which I like.

FIST's service was good. Jim assured me he treated me like any other customer. (I think he's found that magazines he advertises in won't give an honest review, surprise-surprise, which is why I'm so lucky!).

The holster is an excellent value for the price, with exellent workmanship (as good as I've ever seen). I'd be pleased with this holster if I'd paid for it.

Morgan, Greg Kramer of Kramer holster suggests to loosen a holster, wrap several layers around the gun, and then insert it into th holster. Leave it for a few days and it should be loose enough for the draw without a problem. I've tried it and it WORKS. Thought this might be of interest.

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